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TO ALL WHOM I'l MAY CONCERN Be it known that I, E. M. KRUM, of Nassau,in the county of.Re1isselaer, and State of New York,vhave invented a newand improved Hay-Elevating Fork; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full,'clear, y and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of thisspeciioation, in which-- Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improvedhay-fork, representing the parts in position for grasping and rmlyholding a load of hay.

Figure 2 isa side view of the fork with the parts in the same positionas indicated in tig. l.

Figure 3 represents the fork in a condition for discharging its load.

i Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in theseveral gures.

This invention relates to a new and improved hay-fork of that classwhich is designed for elevating hay upon wagons and into barns. Itconsists inA two curved tines which arepivoted together withoutcrossing, and constructed with arms or handles, as will be hereinafterdescribed, in combination with jointed locking-levers which are pivotedto the handles of the tines, and provided with a lever-handle, in suchmanner that when a, bundlel of hay is grasped by the tines and suspendedby their handles, the jointed levers will securely lock and hold them insuch condition until it is desired to release the bundle, which can bedone by a slight movement of said lever-handle, as will be hereinafterdescribed.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand my invention, I willdescribe its construction and operation.

In the accompanying drawings, A A represent two tines which are curved,as shown in figs. 2 and 3, for grasping a bundle ofhay, and which areconstructed with handles, A A', upon their upper ends, and also withVlugs or ears, a a, at the junction of the handles and tines. These tinesare pivoted together by a pin, b, which passes through the two ears a a,and which allows the tines to work freely without rocking, as they wouldbe liable to do if the tines were crossed like a pair of scissors. Whenthe tines are locked in a position for grasping and holding a bundleofhay, as shown in iigs. l and 2, their handles-diverge from thefulcrum-pin b, so as to leave quite a widespace between their upper endsfor receiving the toggle or locking-levers c c, and the longhandle-lever cl. The levers or arms c c are of an equal length, and arepivoted together at their inner ends, and also pivoted tothe tine-arms-A A at their outer ends, as shown in the drawings. When the fork isysuspended by the cord or chain, B, which is attached to the handles A,the point e is in a vertical plane intersecting the axis or pivot l, asshown in figs. 2 and 3, and when the tiues are locked about a bundle, asin ti'gs. 1 and 2, said point e falls below the pivots which connect thelevers c c to the arms A, consequently the weight upon l the tines tendsto move the point e downward, which is resisted by the releasing-lever(Z bearing down upon the hooked projection g. vThe lever fl is connectedat one end to one ot' the arms A?, by the sum-e pivot which cony nectsone of the levers c to the same armhanrl this lever is again pivoted bythe pin e, so that it has the same movement as said levers c. The hookedstop g is formed ou the lever c, in such a position asl to allow thepoint e to drop slightly below the plane, intersecting the pivots at thcouter extremities` of the levers c e. A bord, g', i is attached to thefree end of lever d, and carried upward and passed through an eye-block,z, which cord is used for tripping the fork and discharging the loadtherefrom, by raising the point e and. allowing the levers c c to foldup, as shown in iig; 3. The handles A not only serve as a means forconnecting the jointed levers to the fork, but they also serve ashandles by which a person can plunge the tiues into a. body of hay andthen i grasp a bundle. The handle or lover (l is also used, in loadingthe forli, for affording; a leverage in the act of closing the 'cinesabout a bundle of `hay and locking them in place, for by pressing uponthe free end of this lever d the points of the tines will be forciblybrought together. v

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. The construction of the curved tines A A, with angular portions A"A?, and with jointing portions a a, said tines being connected togetherby ineens of a pivot, b, and toggle-links c c. c the link d beingconstructed and operating in the manner shown, all substantially in themanner and tio-r the purpose. set forth.

2. The arrangement of the cords B B B, and line g', iu combination withthe pivoted tines A A1, togglelinks c c c, and leverlink fl, all in themanner and for the purpose described.

3. The arrangement of the stop` g on one of the toggle-levers, incombination with the` lever-'link d of the toggle c c c cl,substantially in the manner aud for the purpose described. i E. M.'KRUM.

